Common Name: TEREPHTHALIC ACID HAZARD SUMMARY
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Common Name: TEREPHTHALIC ACID CAS Number: 100-21-0 RTK Substance number: 2901 DOT Number: None Date: April 2000 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS * Terephthalic Acid can affect you when breathed in. ACGIH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is * Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. 10 mg/m3 averaged over an 8-hour workshift. * Breathing Terephthalic Acid can irritate the nose, throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE breath. * Where possible, enclose operations and use local exhaust * Repeated exposure to Terephthalic Acid may affect the ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust kidneys. ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be worn. IDENTIFICATION * Wear protective work clothing. Terephthalic Acid is a sand-like white powder. It is used as * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to a reagent to neutralize alkali in wool, as an additive to poultry Terephthalic Acid and at the end of the workshift. feeds, and to increase the effectiveness of certain antibiotics. * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In addition, as part of an ongoing education and training REASON FOR CITATION effort, communicate all information on the health and * Terephthalic Acid is on the Hazardous Substance List safety hazards of Terephthalic Acid to potentially because it is cited by ACGIH, NFPA and EPA. exposed workers. * Definitions are provided on page 5. HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING EXPOSED The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers to label chemicals in the workplace and requires public employers to provide their employees with information and training concerning chemical hazards and controls. The federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 1910.1200, requires private employers to provide similar training and information to their employees. * Exposure to hazardous substances should be routinely evaluated. This may include collecting personal and area air samples. You can obtain copies of sampling results from your employer. You have a legal right to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. * If you think you are experiencing any work-related health problems, see a doctor trained to recognize occupational diseases. Take this Fact Sheet with you. TEREPHTHALIC ACID page 2 of 6 This Fact Sheet is a summary source of information of all WORKPLACE CONTROLS AND PRACTICES potential and most severe health hazards that may result from exposure. Duration of exposure, concentration of the Unless a less toxic chemical can be substituted for a hazardous substance and other factors will affect your susceptibility to substance, ENGINEERING CONTROLS are the most any of the potential effects described below. effective way of reducing exposure. The best protection is to --------------------------------------------------------------------------- enclose operations and/or provide local exhaust ventilation at the site of chemical release. Isolating operations can also HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION reduce exposure. Using respirators or protective equipment is less effective than the controls mentioned above, but is Acute Health Effects sometimes necessary. The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur immediately or shortly after exposure to Terephthalic Acid: In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the * Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether * Breathing Terephthalic Acid can irritate the nose, throat harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when breath. significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. Chronic Health Effects In addition, the following control is recommended: The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at some time after exposure to Terephthalic Acid and can last * Where possible, automatically transfer Terephthalic Acid for months or years: from drums or other storage containers to process containers. Cancer Hazard * According to the information presently available to the Good WORK PRACTICES can help to reduce hazardous New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, exposures. The following work practices are recommended: Terephthalic Acid has not been tested for its ability to cause cancer in animals. * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by Terephthalic Acid should change into clean clothing Reproductive Hazard promptly. * According to the information presently available to the * Do not take contaminated work clothes home. Family New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, members could be exposed. * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by Terephthalic Acid has not been tested for its ability to individuals who have been informed of the hazards of affect reproduction. exposure to Terephthalic Acid. * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate Other Long-Term Effects work area for emergency use. * Repeated exposure to Terephthalic Acid may affect the * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency kidneys. shower facilities should be provided. * On skin contact with Terephthalic Acid, immediately MEDICAL wash or shower to remove the chemical. At the end of the workshift, wash any areas of the body that may have Medical Testing contacted Terephthalic Acid, whether or not known skin If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the contact has occurred. following are recommended: * Do not eat, smoke, or drink where Terephthalic Acid is handled, processed, or stored, since the chemical can be * Kidney function tests. swallowed. Wash hands carefully before eating, drinking, smoking, or using the toilet. Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and * Use a vacuum or a wet method to reduce dust during present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for clean-up. DO NOT DRY SWEEP. damage already done are not a substitute for controlling exposure. Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. TEREPHTHALIC ACID page 3 of 6 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT * Be sure to consider all potential exposures in your workplace. You may need a combination of filters, WORKPLACE CONTROLS ARE BETTER THAN prefilters or cartridges to protect against different forms of PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. However, for a chemical (such as vapor and mist) or against a mixture of some jobs (such as outside work, confined space entry, jobs chemicals. done only once in a while, or jobs done while workplace * Where the potential for high exposure exists, use a controls are being installed), personal protective equipment MSHA/NIOSH approved supplied-air respirator with a full may be appropriate. facepiece operated in a pressure-demand or other positive- pressure mode. For increased protection use in OSHA 1910.132 requires employers to determine the combination with an auxiliary self-contained breathing appropriate personal protective equipment for each hazard and apparatus operated in a pressure-demand or other positive- to train employees on how and when to use protective pressure mode. equipment. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS The following recommendations are only guidelines and may not apply to every situation. Q: If I have acute health effects, will I later get chronic health effects? Clothing A: Not always. Most chronic (long-term) effects result * Avoid skin contact with Terephthalic Acid. Wear acid- from repeated exposures to a chemical. resistant gloves and clothing. Safety equipment suppliers/ manufacturers can provide recommendations on the most Q: Can I get long-term effects without ever having short- protective glove/clothing material for your operation. term effects? * All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) A: Yes, because long-term effects can occur from repeated should be clean, available each day, and put on before exposures to a chemical at levels not high enough to work. make you immediately sick. Eye Protection Q: What are my chances of getting sick when I have been * Wear impact resistant eye protection with side shields or exposed to chemicals? goggles. A: The likelihood of becoming sick from chemicals is * Wear a face shield along with goggles when working with increased as the amount of exposure increases. This is corrosive, highly irritating or toxic substances. determined by the length of time and the amount of material to which someone is exposed. Respiratory Protection IMPROPER USE OF RESPIRATORS IS DANGEROUS. Q: When are higher exposures more likely? Such equipment should only be used if the employer has a A: Conditions which increase risk of exposure include dust written program that takes into account workplace conditions, releasing operations (grinding, mixing, blasting, requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing and dumping, etc.), other physical and mechanical processes medical exams, as described in OSHA 1910.134. (heating, pouring, spraying, spills and evaporation from large surface areas such as open containers), and * NIOSH has established new testing and certification "confined space" exposures (working inside vats, requirements for negative pressure, air purifying, reactors, boilers, small rooms, etc.). particulate filter